This invention relates to a recovery process for reclaiming the lithium contact from aluminum-lithium alloy scrap.
Aluminum-lithium alloy currently is receiving more attention as a candidate for use in structural metal applications in the aerospace industry. Aluminum-lithium alloys offer the advantage of lighter weight and high structural integrity, making these alloys attractive to the aerospace industry for saving fuel.
Large quantities of scrap are generated for every pound of metal used in an aircraft. It is desirable to recycle most of the scrap into ingot form. An aluminum-lithium alloy scrap having about 2.5% lithium content by weight has a value of about fifty cents per pound for the lithium in addition to the aluminum value of about fifty cents per pound. For this reason, it is desirable to recover both lithium and lithium-free aluminum.
However, since several different alloys are needed, mixed scrap may not be recyclable in whole or even in part by melting the scrap and forming the ingot directly. If scrap cannot be recycled into new aluminum-lithium ingot, some method must be found to remove and recover the lithium from the scrap.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a process for recovering the lithium content from aluminum-lithium alloy scrap.